Bang Bang, That Awful Sound
by ChibiLovett
Summary: Emma and Regina have begun to date in secret, but Cora finds out and decides that clearly her daughter still hasn't learned her lesson. She will have to teach her again, in a way that will scar her even more that Daniel's death. (Takes place after Snow and Emma's return from the Enchanted Forest in season 2. Emma x Regina, obviously. There is some semi-graphic violence later on.)
1. Chapter 1

As the sun shone through the slightly opened curtains that covered the window, Emma Swan began to stir and flipped onto her other side. Once she saw the woman lying next to her, still sound asleep, her dark hair falling somewhat in front of her beautiful face, she couldn't help but smile. The sight had become much more common lately as they began to take more risks with their relationship, but it still made her happy. She lifted a hand up from under the covers and poked the other woman's nose, causing her to make a face and slowly open her eyes. "Good morning, Madam Mayor." she said quietly, half jokingly due to the formality.

"Good morning." Regina yawned and rubbed one of her eyes, then was surprised with a good morning kiss. She caressed the sheriff's cheek and felt an arm wrap around her and pull her in closer. "No, now it's a good morning," she smiled. Emma kissed her again, pushing a little to move her onto her back, and climbed partially on top of her, their lips still together. Regina giggled and tried to speak, though she couldn't keep her lips away from Emma's for very long at a time. "Please, Miss Swan, not right now. We just woke up." Her lips were finally free, but she felt her lover's kisses moving down to her neck, forcing out more giggling, but a weaker giggle. "Miss Swan, please, stop." She felt the kisses start to move down her chest and the giggling ceased. "I said stop. It's way too early for that!"

Emma stopped kissing just long enough to look up at the queen and smirk, then returned to it immediately after she spoke. "Say the magic word."

As her lover began to tug on the neckline of her tank top, kissing farther and farther down, Regina was tempted to just let her continue, but ultimately decided against it. "Emma, please stop."

Hearing her name at last, the blonde got off of her and sat down next to her. "I don't know why you won't call me that more often. It's not like anyone else can hear us. Henry doesn't even know about us yet. As far as he or anyone else is aware we've just become really good friends."

"Just habit, I guess. I've always called you that." Regina sat up and threw her legs off the side of the bed, then reached her arms out for a big stretch and yawned. "If you keep staying overnight like this, we're going to have to come clean pretty soon. It's not exactly hard to figure out what's going on."

Emma sighed and her smile faded. "I know. I don't want to keep it a secret anyways. I just don't know how everyone will react to it. I'm the savior and you're the evil queen. My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming, and your mother makes everything you've done look like child's play. We may all be adults, but that's a front-page scandal there."

Regina turned to look at Emma and saw the worried look spread across her face. She smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure it'll take some adjustment, but it'll be fine. Eventually they'll realize that I actually am trying to be good," she gently set her hand on top of Emma's, "for both you and Henry."

Emma returned her smile, then got up and began undressing. Regina stood up to go out and get something for breakfast, but ended up eyeing Emma instead as she removed more and more of her clothing. She was beautiful, and every bit more of skin that showed only further proved it. Once she started getting dressed again, the distracted queen shook it off and finally walked out to the kitchen. Emma, once dressed, met her there and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek while she was cutting up an apple, making the corners of her lips raise into yet another smile. "See you later," she said with the same smile.

"Goodbye, darling." Regina watched her as she left, then returned to what she was doing, a horrible feeling suddenly developing as soon as she shut the door behind her. It felt like a twenty pound rock had just been dropped into her stomach. She didn't have a clue what it meant, but it couldn't be good.

Later that night, at roughly 5:30, Regina left to go meet Emma and Henry. They had planned to tell him about their relationship, to see how he reacted. To do so, they decided to make him dinner together and tell him there. Snow and Charming would be out on a date of their own, so it would just be them. He seemed overjoyed now that they were getting along and that she had been behaving herself, even risking her own life to save Emma and Snow, so they were hoping he'd be alright with it. His two mothers together. No more pointless squabbling over whose son he really was.

Shortly after she had left, long enough that she couldn't have seen it, a woman appeared on her doorstep. This woman, while the mother of its inhabitant, wouldn't exactly be welcome if she had known she was there. Cora waved her hand and the lock on the door opened, allowing her to easily open the door and slip inside, hidden well by the cover of night.

Once inside, she looked all around the house, observing every detail, every little trinket and decoration. She picked up this and that, studying everything, trying to learn as much about her daughter and the woman she had become as she could, or at least anything she hadn't yet picked up yet from quiet observation. After eventually wandering into Regina's bedroom, a specific picture caught her eye. It was a picture of her and another woman, that Emma Swan that she had met back in the Enchanted Forest. There had been other photos of them, but this one was different. They weren't just smiling and goofing off. Regina was smiling, yes, but Emma was kissing her cheek, and she had a look that she had only seen one other time. She had the same look and glow about her that she had when she thought she could be with that stable boy, a look of real happiness and, worst of all, love.

She has seen the two being friendly around town, and had admittedly become slightly suspicious, but she hadn't believed she would actually do that. Not only had she opened herself up for weakness and once again completely disregarded everything she had tried to teach her, but with the savior of all people? This was the woman who had broken her curse and crushed her chance at revenge and a happy ending! She was always such a foolish girl.

Just then, something clicked. This was exactly what she had come here for. This was her dear daughter's glaring weakness, begging to be exploited. This was how she would break her.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina pulled up to the Charming household, parked her car, then got out and walked up to the door. She knocked and soon the door was open, Henry standing before her with a big smile she couldn't help but return. "Hello, Henry."

"Hi. Come on, come in." He moved to the side to allow her in then shut the door behind her.

Regina saw Emma already pulling things out she had told her they would need, too distracted to notice she had even arrived. "Miss Swan, could I speak with you for a moment?"

Emma popped up after hearing her and hit her head on the top of the cupboard she was digging in. "Ow…" She slowly got back up, rubbing her head, and looked at Regina. "Sure." She switched her gaze over to Henry. "Could you give us a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." The boy scurried out of the room.

Regina walked over to Emma, wrapped her arms around her neck, and kissed her. Emma's arms did the same to the queen's waist. "So we're actually going to tell him?" Emma asked.

"Yes. We have to. It's not like what we're doing is really wrong, so we can't keep it a secret forever. It'll just be a lot to take in."

"How should we do it?"

Regina let go of her and hopped up on the counter. "Well, since we both know which of us is more cooking inclined, maybe you could start bringing it up while I'm cooking. Tell him we've got something big to tell him once we're finished eating. Then it'll all unfold from there, whatever happens."

"Yeah, that would probably be the best way. Okay, I'll go tell him to come back." Emma went to get Henry and Regina threw on an apron before moving onto cooking. Once Henry was back in the room, for a while they all just talked and had fun. Sometimes Emma and Henry would help Regina out a little, but mostly they just chatted. After a while, Regina looked at Emma and mouthed the word "now". She nodded in response and turned to Henry. "Okay, I'll come clean. We have an ulterior motive for this dinner."

Henry smiled. "I knew it! This was way too sudden. So what is it?"

Emma glanced over at Regina for a second, then back at Henry. "We have something we want to tell you, but it should probably wait until after dinner."

"Really? Is it something good or bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it. We both consider it good."

"Then I'll probably think it's good too! So why wait?"

"We just don't want to ruin the dinner on the chance you don't agree."

"Um…okay."

Regina put the food in the oven and sat down with them. "You're just going to spend all of dinner trying to figure it out now, aren't you?"

Henry looked up at her and pleaded, "Oh come on, just tell me now. Please!"

His mothers cast quick glances at each other and Emma sighed, but nodded to the other. Regina stood up and slowly walked around the table. "Well, Henry, what if I told you that we've completely reconciled? We'll no longer fight over you and you won't have to worry about any of that nonsense anymore."

"Wouldn't that mean I would have to go to only one of you?"

"Not necessarily," Emma chimed in. Henry looked slightly confused.

Regina ended up behind her lover and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. Emma held onto it and brought it to her lips for a kiss. Henry's eyes went wide and his mouth hung slightly open as he began to realize what she had meant. The queen smiled over at her son somewhat nervously. "You officially have two mothers."

"So that's why you two have been spending so much time together! And why Emma kept disappearing at night."

"Yep, and we wanted to tell you first." Emma smiled slightly.

"So…you two are really together? This isn't some sort of prank?"

Regina shook her head. "No. We've been together for a while now."

Henry's smile returned, only twice as big, and he walked around to stand to the side of them, both of them meeting his gaze. It was obvious he could hardly contain himself. "Does this mean we can actually be a family now? Like, we can actually act like a family?"

"Remember we still haven't told anyone else, but we planned on it soon," Regina began. "But essentially, yes."

Henry attacked them both with a big hug, catching them both off guard. "I love you guys."

Regina stroked his hair and smiled a closed smile. "I love you too."

Emma wrapped one arm around him to return the hug. "Me too, kid."

Henry pulled back and looked at them both smiling, and hugged them again. This was his dream come true. The curse was broken and he had a real family. He didn't have two mothers fighting over him, he just had two mothers. There may not have been a father, but this was plenty good as a replacement.

* * *

The rest of the dinner far exceeded expectations. Somehow, getting that out there had made it more fun and natural to be together. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. They hadn't even realized how late it had gotten until Snow and Charming came home from their own date. "Well, it looks like you guys have been having fun."

All three of them turned to look at them, not having realized they had even walked in, too busy laughing. Emma hurried and swallowed the bit of ice cream she had almost spit out a few seconds earlier and was the first to respond. "Yeah, it's been an interesting night."

Regina looked up at the clock on the wall and noticed it said it was almost 10:30. It hadn't felt like anywhere near five hours! She stood up, carried her dishes over to the sink, and rinsed them off. She returned to the others and said, "Good thing you two came home. I didn't even realize how late it had gotten already. I really should be getting home."

"Oh, but we just got home. Are you sure you can't stay a little while longer?" Snow spoke with a feigned kindness and politeness. She still didn't fully trust Regina, no matter how good she seemed to be and how well she and Emma had been getting along. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen very soon, and that it would be her fault.

"I'm afraid I really must be going."

"Really?" asked Henry.

"Yes. It's getting late." Regina was almost knocked over by another hug from her son, but returned it nonetheless, smiling down at him. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Henry pulled away. "Yeah. Of course."

"Goodbye Mary Margaret, David." They both nodded to her and said a simple "bye". Regina looked over at Emma and the corners of her lips lifted a bit more. "Goodbye, Miss Swan."

Emma's lips did the same as she replied. "See ya."

Regina left the place, shutting the door behind her. After she had just barely unlocked her car, she heard someone coming closer and turned to see Emma. "What is it?" No sooner had she finished this sentence than Emma had kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around her neck as she relaxed into the surprise of it. "You know they could be watching us, right?"

"Maybe. Oh well. Too late now."

"Goodbye again, Emma."

Emma's smile grew even more upon hearing her call her by name. "See ya later, Regina." After they finished, the queen got in her car and pulled away, waving one more time out the window. Emma watched her drive away for a few seconds, wishing she could have stayed, or that she herself could have gone with her. They had been having so much fun.

Suddenly the ever-alert Emma turned towards the side of the building. She had heard a noise from that direction. "Hello? Is someone there?" As she got closer, she began to make out a hooded figure standing there, the face covered completely in shadow. "Who are you?"

The figure lifted their head up, revealing their face. It was one she had hoped never to see again. "Hello, dear Emma," the woman said quietly.

"Cora? What are you doing here?"

"I came for something I wasn't able to get the last time we met." Without another word, the evil woman forced her hand into Emma's chest and gripped her heart tightly, knocking all the breath out of her. Unlike the last time, when she pulled on it, it came out with ease. Here she had it, the heart of the one her daughter loved most, but this time she wasn't going to end it there. She kept hold of the heart and tucked her hand back under her cape. "Until we meet again, Miss Swan." She disappeared into a swirl of purple smoke.

Emma stood there motionless, too stunned to say or do anything at all, and too worried. Knowing what she did about Cora, she knew there was no way this could end even mildly well. That woman didn't have a single good bone in her body. Emma didn't dare even think about what Cora intended to do with her heart right now. For now she needed to get some rest for whatever the next day may hold, now that she knew she was here. She'd just keep it to herself for the time being. No use in worrying Henry, Mary Margaret, and David.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina arrived home shortly after saying goodbye to Emma and that feeling from earlier came back full force as soon as she entered. Knowing by now to trust those feelings, she started searching quietly through the house, trying to find any signs of an intruder. Not seeing anyone or anything out of place, she went up to her room to get ready for bed.

It took all of about half a second to realize instantly that something was wrong as soon as she set foot in her bedroom. The picture on her bedside table of her and Emma was turned away from the bed. Never once since she put it there had she turned it that way, and in fact she even made it a point to make sure it always faced the bed. Someone was definitely in her house, but they hadn't taken anything. From what she could tell, all they really did was look at the picture. Who in their right mind would do that?

* * *

The next day, while Regina was cleaning up her house a bit, she heard a knock at the door. At the moment, she was on her hands and knees scrubbing a nasty stain from where Emma had accidentally spilled some wine during their last "sleepover". "Come in!" She called to whoever it was, scrubbing harder at the stain.

Regina didn't even glance to see who it was until she saw a familiar pair of brown boots. She looked up and saw Emma standing before her, a small grin on her face and her hand on her hip. "Just thought I'd stop and say hi. I wish you didn't have to go last night."

Regina couldn't help but return her smile. "Me neither. Henry was so excited about it all!" Her smile faded and she looked back down at the stain, then around at the rest of the room that hadn't been thoroughly cleaned for a while. "Now, I'm sorry Miss Swan, but I'm a little busy. I've got a lot to clean. Could we finish this later?"

Emma kneeled down in front of Regina with a mischievous smirk curving her lips. "You've got to kiss me first. Then I'll go."

"What is it with you and these little games lately?" Regina shook her head with a small smile and looked at her again. "Well alright. If you're going to force me." She kissed her lover deeply but, within a few moments, she found herself being forced up against the wall behind her. Her hands were being held above her head, her wrists hurting from the force holding them down. "Oh come on, not right now. I told you, I've got-" Before she could finish her sentence, her lips were silenced by another, much more forceful kiss. "What the hell are you-?!" Again she couldn't finish her sentence, but this time all that stopped her was Emma holding a finger to her lips.

* * *

Cora was hiding out in the forest, holding Emma's heart in her hands. She was smiling a closed smile, feeling rather pleased with herself for what she had just begun to do. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Killing someone she loved clearly hadn't been enough to teach Regina the lesson she had been trying to hammer into her head since the day she was born. Love was weakness that should not be allowed if she wanted power, and power was more important than anything else. Even with all of her efforts to teach her this, she still continued to fall in love. She had never appreciated all that she did for her.

Now that very weakness was going to be her undoing. The betrayal will shatter her, destroy her mentally and emotionally even more than it will physically. She will be completely broken. Then a few simple rumors would turn everyone else against her. She'll have no one else to turn to besides her beloved mother.

* * *

"Don't say a word, my darling." Emma said the last two words in a mocking tone, her face showing a disgusted expression. "You know as well as I do that none of this was real."

Regina felt as if her heart just dropped into her stomach. "What are you talking about? Are you telling me that was all an act?"

"Of course it was! What else would it be?"

Was she telling the truth? Had it all really been one big lie? All Regina could think of at the moment was how much she hoped this was all just an extremely vivid nightmare. "But," her lower lip began to tremble and her eyes glistened with tears threatening to fall. Images, memories, began to flash through her head; that night after Emma and Snow's welcome back party, when she had followed her out. She could almost feel her gentle touch again, her hands with one holding her own and the other on her cheek, wiping a tear away. She could see clearly the smile as she tried to comfort her, and for a moment, she almost forgot her heart was beating so quickly because of fear instead of excitement as she discovered her affections towards the savior were mutual. When she snapped back into reality, she no longer saw Emma's smiling and kind face, but that same face twisted with blood lust and hate. "But you said you loved me."

"Did you really think that the daughter of Snow White and savior of Storybrooke, which I only had to save in the first place because of a curse you put on it, could love the Evil Queen? Are you really that stupid?"

The tears finally began to trickle down her cheeks and she could feel her hands begin to shake, though still being held up by her attacker. 'Evil Queen'. Emma hadn't called her that and meant it since long before they got together, nor had she done anything to give her reason to. This all had to be a nightmare. There was no way this was all real. She didn't sleep well last night and fell asleep on the couch. That's all this is.

Then she thought of Henry and how excited he had been when he saw they had settled their differences once and for all. "But...what about Henry? This will destroy him! He was so happy when we said we could finally be a family. I haven't seen him smile and have that much fun in a long time."

"I don't care. You'll only hurt him more later on if I let you go."

That response was apparently the kick she needed to start thinking clearly. The tears slowed down and Regina, instead, looked at Emma with a look of confusion. "Wait...you don't care? Since when would you ever knowingly hurt Henry?"

* * *

For a few long moments, Cora couldn't think of what to do next. Clearly she had missed something...something vital that may have just doomed her entire plan. Her smile had already disappeared, the corners of her mouth falling into a worried frown. Quickly as she could, she tried to come up with something to hopefully save herself.

* * *

"A little pain now is better than a lot later."

"But...you literally just made his dream come true then crushed it. There is no worse pain than that."

Emma's expression began to soften for a moment, her real self starting to show through, but then Cora quickly came back, looking angrier than ever. One look into her eyes quickly told Regina that this was no longer the same woman she had had dinner with last night. "I said I don't care! You are an evil woman who would only hurt him again and again if you stayed in his life! Obviously you're not going to just leave, so I guess I'll have to take you out myself."

Regina could feel her heart beating so hard and fast it felt like a jackhammer in her chest, which was heaving rapidly with her exasperated breaths. Frantically she tried to free herself from Emma's grip, knowing exactly what was going to happen if she couldn't get away. Unfortunately, she also knew full well that Emma had her more than outmatched in strength, so after a while, she let herself relax again and decided to try a different tactic. "Please." Another tear rolled down her cheek. "Emma, don't do this. You're not yourself."

As with before, Emma began to shine through again for just a moment, causing her expression to change again into one of deep sadness and regret. She may have had her mind back, but she still couldn't control her body. "I...I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Regina smiled again, even laughed a little from the intense relief, as one of her hands was released. "As long as you're you now, that's all tha-" She was cut off by the feeling of a gunpoint on her stomach. Every ounce of happiness had instantly drained away. She looked straight into Emma's eyes, scared to death because she actually saw the correct person in them now. "How...how could you...?"

A single tear fell down Emma's cheek. The guilt from what she knew she was about to do had already begun to take its toll. "Please, please forgive me."

Before Regina could say another word, she felt a sudden, piercing pain as a bullet broke through her skin, slicing its way through anything in its path. Her eyes went wide and Emma released her other hand, allowing her to slide down the wall until she sat flat on the ground. A trail of red stained the wall behind her.

* * *

Cora smiled with delight as the shot was fired, hoping this would be the final push her daughter needed. Knowing that was all she needed to do, she released Emma and put her heart away again for safekeeping.


	4. Chapter 4

Dr. Hopper had been out taking a walk and was caught off guard by an unexpected gunshot that rang out from Regina's mansion. His first thought was fear that Regina had returned to her evil ways for one reason or another, even though she seemed so sincere whenever he had talked to her. He bolted inside, trying to find her, then stood in horror as he saw the truth. Emma stood before Regina's bleeding and nearly lifeless body with a gun in her hand and tears streaming down her cheeks. "What have you done?!" He rushed to Regina's side to check if she was still at least alive. To his delight, she was, but only just.

Emma raced out the door and ran away as far as she could, afraid to face anyone else, whether they knew what she had just done or not. She also had to find the cause of all this. Cora had to pay.

Meanwhile Archie immediately ran to the nearest phone and dialed 911. Once off the phone, he took off his coat and tried to stop at least some of the bleeding with it. "Hold on, Regina, you'll be alright. Everything's going to be okay."

Regina slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes heavy and threatening to close. "No it won't." The bullet wound hurt, of course, but it paled in comparison to the betrayal she felt. Emma didn't seem like herself, but she did it anyways. Whatever the reason, she had attempted to kill her. She may as well have ripped her heart out right then and there. Regina almost wished she would have.

"Yes it will. An ambulance is on its way. You'll be fine. Now don't talk, save your strength." Given that Storybrooke was such a small town, an ambulance was there pretty quickly. They loaded Regina up and took her away to the hospital, Archie tagging along as the one who found her to hopefully answer any questions she couldn't.

* * *

Emma ran and ran aimlessly through the forest, hoping to run into Cora somewhere. Finally, she saw her leaning up against a tree, her eyes closed but a smug smile on her face, and holding a small box. Not even bothering with subtlety, she charged at her, but hit the ground instead of her. Emma looked up and she had disappeared and was now standing right in front of her. "My dear, you're not very good at sneaking up on others, are you?"

"Why would you make me do that?! She's your daughter!" Emma still lay on the ground, noticing Cora had a hold of her heart again, unable to get up.

"Whenever you were down, when you were broken and alone and maybe even betrayed, who was it you wanted most? Who was it you needed more than anyone else in the world? You will be my way of getting her to need me."

Emma groaned from a sudden pain and gripped at her chest. Cora had begun to squeeze her heart, almost enough to kill her, but making sure to stop just before that happened. She was far too valuable of a tool to lose her now. She just had to make sure she wouldn't try to defy her again. Once she felt she had tortured her sufficiently, she loosened her grip on her heart. Emma's chest continued to heave up and down like crazy, her breathing still rapid from the pain that had just now ceased. "You're only going to lose her." She spoke between heavy breaths. "She knew that wasn't me. She will figure you out."

"I know how love works, my dear. She may think she knows, but because it was your face that she saw, and your finger that pulled that trigger, there will always be that suspicion and fear that you really wanted to kill her." Cora placed the heart back into the box it was in before and smirked down at the wretched woman on the ground before her. "Besides, who says she'll still be living? Unless she got immediate attention, she'll have already bled to death.

* * *

Regina lay quietly in her bed at the hospital. The moon was shining through the blinds on the window, casting a thin line on her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around her, trying to make sense of what had happened and of where she was. She quickly figured out she was in a hospital room, hooked up to a bunch of machines. Next the memories of what had happened began to flood in. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by a piercing pain in her stomach and had to lay back down. She heard the door open and turned to see who it was, but the figure was shadowed. "Hello? Who's there?"

"I had to come visit. I feel horrible about what happened." The voice was unmistakably Emma's, but it didn't have the lamenting and remorseful tone she would have expected. Instead it was almost mocking. As she approached and her face became clearer, a smirk could clearly be seen on her face.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I had to finish the job." Emma placed her hand on Regina's mouth and put a finger to her own lips. "Ssh." Her hand slid down to the queen's neck, her fingers curling around it, and a tear slid down Regina's cheek, too scared to speak or make any sounds. She pushed her hand down and Regina began to desperately gasp for air, though her attempts were futile. It seemed the harder she tried to breathe, the harder it became. But worst of all was Emma's face hovering above her, actually enjoying her suffering.

"Emma...please..." she managed to get out between gasps for breath. Still her supposed lover didn't relent and even pushed harder. Everything began to fade into black, the last thing she saw being Emma's eyes full of malice and hate, until finally, everything was gone.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry, it's not over yet! It's not what you think, trust me. Another chapter is soon to come! :3


	5. Chapter 5

Regina awoke suddenly, jolting up in her bed, but immediately being sent back down and howling from the pain. A nurse quickly ran in to see what had happened and saw her crying and screaming, grasping her stomach with one hand and her other fist held over her heart. "What happened?! What's wrong?!" She rushed to her bedside and checked all of her monitors.

Dr. Whale burst in through the door and tried to calm her down. "Regina, please! We can't help you if we don't know what's wrong, and we can't know that by screaming!"

Regina stopped herself from screaming and allowed herself to relax as she reoriented to reality. Her breathing was still heavy, fast, and exasperated, but her muscles and body had begun to ease up and become less tense. She looked around nervously, her eyes darting back and forth between the nurse and the doctor. As she realized that she wasn't indeed dead and that it was all just a nightmare, she took one long, deep breath and tried to calm down as best she could. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. We had just expected you to be a bit calmer the first time you woke up." Now that she was still, he grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse. "Now, what is it that caused that? Were you remembering what happened?"

"No, I was having a nightmare."

Whale set her hand back down and checked her heartbeat. Once he finished, he continued questioning her. "Are you feeling alright then? Physically, I mean."

"Well my stomach hurts like hell, but aside from that I'm peachy."

The doctor chuckled a little bit. "Nice to see you're at least able to joke around a little."

"Has...has anyone been to see me yet?"

"You've only been here since yesterday. Henry came by when he heard with Mary Margaret and David. I believe that was it, though. Why?"

Regina looked down at the ground. Why did she expect Emma to show up? Why did she want her to? She was the stuff of her nightmares now, no longer that of her dreams. "Oh...no reason. Did Henry say if he'd be by again?"

"He didn't say so, but he's a sweet kid, and he really cares about you, so I'm sure he'll be by pretty soon." Dr. Whale smiled again and, before either of them could even think of another thing to say, there was another voice from the doorway.

"Mom!" Henry's voice rang excitedly through the room as he ran over to her bedside and grabbed her hand. Knowing he would no longer be needed for the moment, Whale left. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"

Regina forced a smile and gripped his hand tightly. "Don't worry about me." She ignored the pain in her stomach and pushed a button to lift one end of the bed, allowing her to sit up, and pulled him in to kiss him on the forehead. As he pulled away, he could see tears glistening in her eyes. "I'll be fine."

Henry's smile quickly disappeared. "So...what happened? Do you remember?"

She couldn't help but laugh a little from his question. There was no way she was ever going to forget what happened, no matter how much she wished she could. "Yes, I remember. You mean no one has told you yet? I figured the whole town would know by now."

"They do but...for some reason...no one will let me find out who did it."

Regina sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "I wish I could keep it that way, but eventually they're going to catch her, and then I'd rather it not be too big of a shock when they do."

"Then...who did it?"

Regina avoided eye contact with her son for a few moments, afraid of how he would react. She wasn't exaggerating just to tug on her heartstrings when she said it would destroy the boy. He finally had the family he had wanted and fought for. Now he had lost it just as quickly as he had gotten it. She breathed deeply and looked up at him, holding onto his hand with both of hers and gripping it tightly. "Emma."

Henry's eyes went wide with horror. "But...you can't be serious. She would never do that."

"I'm afraid she did. She surprised me at home."

"But I saw you two together. You were so in love! There's no way she could have done that to you!"

She squeezed his hand tighter and sighed. "Henry, I loved her. I truly did. Honestly, I still do. I don't know what happened or what caused it, but she didn't seem like herself. It was almost as if she was two completely different people, but the other one had control of her actions. The last thing I remember before Archie showed up was her face, full of regret, and crying as much as I was. She didn't want to do it. It didn't look like she had a choice."

"But...how?"

"I don't now, but once I'm well enough to go out on my own again, I intend to find out as soon as possible. Until then, please promise me you won't go near her. Until I find out what's going on with her, there's no telling what she could do. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Henry threw his arms around her, careful not to bother her wound, and laid his head down on her shoulder. "I love you, mom."

Regina normally would have smiled from him saying that, but given the circumstances, she couldn't. All she could do was wrap her arms around him in return, hold him close, and kiss the top of his head. "I love you too."

Just then Mary Margaret entered the room and walked over to the side of her bed, the opposite side as Henry. "Glad to see you're awake! Are you alright?"

Regina looked up at the black haired woman, forcing a small smile. "I'm fine, thank you." She wasn't an idiot. She knew she still didn't trust her. This incident would only raise her suspicions. Why, after all, would Emma have shot her if she didn't have a reason? Her own record was against her. No one, especially Mary Margaret, would believe her about what happened unless she could find proof.

"Good. When I heard, I just couldn't believe it! I don't know what could have come over her."

"Don't bother hiding it. I told him already. It was his right to know."

Mary Margaret got in a subtle glare towards Regina. "Why did you do that?"

"Because she's his mother, as am I, whether you like it or not."

"But you're not his mother anymore. It was not your place to tell him."

Regina let go of Henry and quickly turned towards the woman, at least as much as she could without hurting herself. "I don't care if Emma is back, and I don't care if grandma and grandpa like it. I am still his mother."

"Does he live with you? Are you going to be the one there trying to help him when he cries or when he's sick?"

"I said I don't care. I'm more of a mother to him now than you even realize, miss perfect princess."

"And what do you mean by that?"

Regina opened her mouth to speak, but Henry cut her off by whispering in her ear. "Are you sure you want to tell her right now?"

The queen's eyes never left Mary Margaret's, and her voice was quiet and low. "You're right. I'll wait." She slapped on another fake smile and held tightly onto Henry's hand. "Nothing."

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "That didn't look like nothing."

Henry looked up at the clock, hoping it was close enough to 3:00 that they could leave. Obviously none of their past had cleared yet with these two. Luckily, it was. "Hey, Mary Margaret, shouldn't we get going? It's almost time for my appointment with Archie."

She glanced over at the clock, then back at the boy. "Yeah, we should. Goodbye, Regina." She feigned her usual kindness once again, complete with a friendly smile. "Hope you feel better soon."

Henry hugged his mother once more. She held him tightly and whispered, "Don't worry about me or Emma. Everything is going to be okay." Then she spoke in the quietest whisper she could and put her lips closer to his ear to prevent Mary Margaret from hearing what she said. "We will be a family again." She kissed him on the cheek and let him go. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom." She smiled again after he said that, then he went with Mary Margaret, waving one last time to her before leaving.

She waved back, then rested both of her hands in her lap with a sigh. As soon as she was alone, her mind began overflowing with what ifs. What if it wasn't true? What if they never could be a family again? What if Snow managed to convince Henry that she was evil and Emma had had a good reason? What if the crying and regret had all been an act and Emma really had wanted her dead? Her hands balled into fists, gripping the blanket that covered her so tightly they shook, and she considered the worst one of all.

What if she had lost both of them, two of the only people she truly loved with every last piece of her blackened heart? There was only one other living person she loved, and at this point she didn't even know for sure if she would ever see her again.

That was it. Her fists unclenched and her eyes went wide with realization. Had that woman managed to somehow get to Storybrooke? Was her mother really here? There was no limit to her cruelty, even to her own daughter, and if she had somehow stolen Emma's heart, she would be able to control her like a living marionette. It also would have explained why someone broke into her house and all they did was look at a picture of her and Emma. At first, this possibility worried her more than anything. If Cora was here, then there was no telling what else she might do. She might even go after Henry. Then she began to think of the flip side. That would mean Emma really did still love her, that the tears had been true, that they could still have their little family. She could still have her happy ending, and all she had to do to get it was catch the one responsible.


	6. Chapter 6

Mary Margaret was busy making dinner when she heard a knock at the door. Henry just was sitting on the bed reading a book, so she asked him to go get it. "Just let me finish this page, okay?"

"But by then they might have left, and I've been working with raw chicken."

"Alright, alright." Henry got up and answered the door, smiling. The smile faded quickly, however, when he saw who it was that had knocked. "Emma?"

His birth-mother smiled back at him. "Yep. It's me." She walked past him and Mary Margaret was looking at her with a confused expression. "What? I live here, don't I?"

"But," her mother began, "how can you just walk in here like nothing happened? You shot Regina."

"She said she didn't even do anything." Henry added.

"That is a downright lie." Emma turned to face her son, looking very serious and defensive about his comment. "She attacked me first. I had to fight her off, but she wouldn't let up. I had no choice. They found the dagger there, didn't they?"

"But...what about..."Henry trailed off, not sure if he should finish the sentence, but fairly certain she would know what he meant anyways.

For the moment, Cora allowed some of Emma's real inner pain from the event show through to make the act more believable, though the real reason for it was much different than how she would explain it. "It wasn't real. It never was. She was just using me."

"What are you talking about? What wasn't real?" asked a slightly confused Mary Margaret.

Emma turned to her, but Henry spoke up before she could. "Their friendship. They had gotten so close!" He paused and looked down at the ground. "Or...or at least I thought they had."

"She was basically my best friend...before that."

"Well...betrayal isn't exactly beneath her. What I can't believe is that she'd do something like that to Henry."

"Whatever the reason, she did it. That's all I know."

"I'm...I'm going to take a walk." Henry walked out the door and departed before either of them could say another word to him.

* * *

After only a day being awake and conscious in the hospital, Henry came to visit Regina once more, and he brought bad news. His usual smile was nowhere to be seen. "Emma…she said that you attacked her first and that it was all self-defense."

A confused look swept across the queen's face. "But I did nothing. All I did was kiss her. Is that a crime?"

"She said that you were coming at her with a dagger, so she shot you to stop you."

Regina locked her gaze with her son's and held his hand. "You've got to believe me. I didn't do anything. I would never hurt her."

"But they found a dagger there, and….well….you know."

Regina's squeezed his hand even tighter. "Please, Henry. I wouldn't lie to you, not now. I don't know why that dagger was there, but I do know that I didn't put it there." Henry looked down at the ground, questioning whether he should believe her or not. "No matter how dark my heart may be because of my past, I've still got at least a little of it that's still light because of you and Emma. I love her, Henry, and I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her, not anymore. Please." Her eyes began to glisten with tears that she tried to stop from falling. "I already may have lost her. I couldn't bear to lose you too."

Henry met his mother's gaze again and within seconds made his decision. It wasn't hard to see the fear and pain in her eyes right at that moment. "Well…she was acting a bit strange. Maybe you are right and someone is controlling her somehow."

Regina smiled then wrapped her arms around him, holding him as close as she dared. "Thank you." Henry was silent as she held him and stroked his hair, hoping he made the right choice in trusting her.

* * *

Emma went about her days no different than she always had, save for the occasional person asking her about her shooting Regina. Considering both of their reputations, no one really doubted her answers and no charges were ever pressed. The only person who continued to question her was Archie. He saw her that night. He saw her looking so hurt and guilty, even crying. He saw the look in Regina's eyes, the look of utter hopelessness and betrayal. He had been the only person Regina had told about her relationship with Emma, so he had seen her gush about it and he'd never seen her happier. He had also never seen her seeming more genuine than when she would say how much she loved Emma. There was no way she would have done anything to harm her.

Beyond that, Emma now bore absolutely no resemblance to the one he saw that day. The Emma that he had seen holding the gun was remorseful and clearly regretted what she had done. The Emma wandering around town now was even cockier than usual and was practically gloating about shooting Regina, basking in the glory of being the hero once again. How she had managed to fool the entire town, he had no clue. Maybe they simply still weren't open to the idea that Regina had truly changed and were jumping on the chance to prove she hadn't.

One day, while out walking Pongo, he bumped into her on the sidewalk. "I'm so sorry!" Once he realized who it was he ran into, he smiled and acted as friendly as possible. "Oh it's you. How have you been?"

"I'm fine. I'm kind of in a hurry, though, so if you'll excuse me."

"Of course." He smiled again and moved aside to let her pass. He watched her for a few seconds to see where she might be headed. Unfortunately, she didn't go anywhere specific as far as he could tell, and he knew her well enough to know that following her would be useless. He wasn't the most stealthy person, and she'd surely catch him.

Meanwhile, Emma had actually gone to that same spot in the forest where she attacked Cora before to meet the woman again. Once she found herself standing right in front of her, she regained control of herself temporarily. Cora had set her heart back in the box for the moment. "You obviously want to ask me something. Go ahead."

"Why can't you let me go? You've almost killed her, and you've destroyed her chance at redeeming herself. What else do you need me for?"

Cora laughed quietly and smirked. "My dear, you clearly don't see the big problem. If I let you go, you'll go off and expose me and try to clear her name. I'm not a fool."

"I told you already. You think you're going to get her back by doing this, but you're just going to drive her away."

"And as I told you before, she'll never know it was me. No matter how much she may try to convince herself that it was me, she will always have that lingering doubt and will really believe it was you. Once she falls, I will be there to pick her up. Then..." Cora paused and picked up Emma's heart, squeezing it just lightly, but enough pressure to at least hurt its owner. "I will erase her problem for her and win her back for good." Emma grabbed her chest and clenched her teeth until Cora released her heart again. "Now go back and do your job."

"Please, Cora. Hasn't she suffered enough?"

"Sometimes suffering is necessary to find real happiness. Besides, you just want to go running back to her to try and win her back. You don't deserve her. She had to work to gain her power. You had it handed to you through your blood. I'm helping her in more than one way by doing this."

Emma had a million things she wanted to say to her in that moment, but suddenly found herself unable to speak as she turned and headed back to town.


	7. Chapter 7

After a mostly uneventful stay in the hospital, save for a few interrogations, Regina was finally ready to leave. She got herself all checked out and exited the building. Without her car, she decided to walk home. There was still a bit of a pain in her stomach as she did it, but it wasn't near as unbearable as it used to be. What was worse was the glares and obscene shouts from others along the way. She could feel them watching her and knew very well what they all thought. No matter how wrong it may be, she also knew that there was no way she could change any of their minds. Her past was working against her.

She was not alone, however. Someone was watching her, someone who hadn't dared go anywhere near Regina for fear of what Cora might make her do. After hearing that Regina was due to be released, she wanted to at least try and make amends. She knew she shouldn't go near her, but she couldn't stand the thought of her possibly going through such inner turmoil, thinking she had been so deeply betrayed. She had to at least try and clear the air so she could at least hopefully let go of the betrayal and, if need be, find happiness somewhere else.

On the way home, Regina accidentally bumped into Leroy. "Back to kill someone else, are we?"

Regina was suddenly torn between feeling sad and feeling enraged. She had done so much to help everyone in the time since she had began trying to change. Now one little lie managed to crumble it all. Did they all really hate her that much that there was no way for her to make up for everything she had done? One lie had made everything back to how it used to be. The entire town was against her and seemed to wish the gunshot had killed her. Frustrated as she was, she simply took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as she could. "Please, Leroy, I just want to go home."

"Why? To brew up another curse for us all?"

Regina's lip twitched in anger. "No. As I already told everyone else who has brought it up, I didn't try to kill Emma either. Now can I please go?"

She tried to walk around him, but he moved in front of her. "Didn't try to kill her, my ass. They found the dagger you used, and Emma has already told us all about it."

"Okay, believe what you want, but all I want to do right now is go home."

"Fine. Just watch your back, witch." Leroy walked on, bumping her with his shoulder as he passed.

Regina froze for a moment and closed her eyes. She could so easily just cast a simple spell and get him right then and there. Not necessarily kill him, though she wouldn't mind that since he was always the first to throw her to the dogs, but just something to make him suffer even a little bit. Her finger twitched, her hand itching to wave and send the streetlight next to him crashing down on top of his tiny dwarf body, but she managed to stop herself. Then came a shout from across the street.

"Burn the witch!"

Already on edge from Leroy, she immediately lost her temper and, before she could even realize what she was doing, she had raised her hand and was holding a fireball in her grasp, ready to torch whoever had said that. However, as quickly as she reacted, someone was apparently quicker as she felt someone grab her wrist tightly and stop her. "What do you think you're-" Once the queen turned around, she froze again, this time from surprise. She stood wide-eyed, half happy, half petrified with fear. The corners of her mouth twitched, wanting to form a smile, but unable to. "E-Emma?"

"Yeah, and just what do you think you're doing? You're just proving them all right!"

"But...I...you..."

"Just be quiet and let's get you home before anything else happens." Emma lowered her hand, still holding Regina's wrist, and dragged her away, not stopping until they reached the biggest mansion in Storybrooke. Once they arrived, she got them both inside and shut and locked the door behind her.

Regina ripped her wrist free of Emma and backed away a few steps. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I had to make sure you were okay. I'd heard a little about you, but I had to see for myself. When I saw what was happening, I didn't want you to make them all right. You've already got it bad enough from what I've done."

Every logical thought in Regina's head told her to kick Emma out. She had nearly killed her, then had spread lies about what had happened. What's more, she could even get revenge, but as usual lately, her heart won out. She knew full well she couldn't do anything to hurt Emma, especially after seeing the look of regret in her eyes as she said those last few words. Instead she slowly approached her, lifting a trembling hand to her cheek. "You were worried about me?"

Emma closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of that gentle touch she had missed so much. She lifted her own hand to hold onto the one on her cheek and moved it to her lips to kiss it. "Of course I was. I didn't want to do any of that."

"Then...why did you?"

Emma let go of the hand she held, which fell back to Regina's side. "Cora. She has my heart."

"Then why are you here right now? She could make you do something like that again."

"She must have my heart put away for now. I can't stay long because she could take control again any time, but I had to at least try and clear things up. She's trying to destroy your happiness. I couldn't let her win."

"She's been trying to do that for as long as I can remember."

"Well...I should probably leave. I'm pushing it by just being here."

"I know." Regina set her hands on Emma's chest and kissed her. Shortly after she felt arms slithering around her waist and pulling her in. As the kiss ended, she locked her gaze with Emma's and a small smile managed to break through, though both pairs of eyes had begun to swell with tears during the bittersweet kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Emma matched her smile, then let go of her and turned to leave, but suddenly fell to the floor, groaning from a sudden, intense pain in her chest.

"Emma!" Regina knelt down beside her and her hands hovered above her, too afraid to actually touch her as she writhed around on the ground before her. She began to panic, knowing at once what must be happening.

"Oh, my love, affection has always been your biggest downfall." Regina turned around and saw Cora standing behind her, a smug smirk curving her lips. Her hand was raised and her fingers curled tightly around a glowing red heart. "But she brought this one upon herself."

"All she did was come to see me!"

"Precisely. She went against my plans for you."

"I already knew it was you. She would never do something like that to me."

Cora grabbed her daughter's chin roughly, her grip on Emma's heart still steadfast. "Don't lie to me. You may have suspected me, but you still thought it was her." She let go of her and stood straight again, relaxing her fingers around the heart. "Unless, of course, you don't really love her."

Regina stared at her mother for a few moments, then down at Emma, who was breathing heavily but finally still. "Of course I love her." She tucked some of Emma's hair behind her ear, revealing more of her beautiful face again. "That's why it was so painful. The bullet was nothing."

"Then...you did think she would actually do that to you. It wouldn't have been painful if you didn't."

Regina quickly turned around towards her mother again, tears streaming from her eyes that were burning with rage at the same time. "Stop trying to drive a wedge between us!" She had barely had time to finish her sentence before gasping and clutching her stomach. She had turned too quickly and sharply after convincing Dr. Whale to let her out earlier than he should have. It wasn't healed well enough.

"Careful, dear. Don't want to reopen that wound, do you?"

Regina glared up at her mother and slowly slid her fingers through the buttons on her shirt, getting a strange but hopefully effective idea. Knowing it was already strained, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she reopened the wound herself. She undid a button on her shirt and slid her whole hand through the gap. Cora watched her with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing?"

Regina slowly stood up, a red blotch growing slowly on her white shirt, her hand still tucked within it. "My dear mother." Cora's eyes kept darting back and forth from her hand as she pulled it out, to her flaming eyes. "My dear, dear mother."

"Regina, I demand you tell me what you're doing right this second." Her usual calmness was slowly melting away.

"All my life, I've continued to love you. I can't help it. No matter what you did to me, you were still my mother. You cut me deeper than anyone else in either world, but it was never this visible." Regina held onto her hand, gripping it even tighter when she tried to pull it away. She then slipped her other hand into her shirt, coating it in blood as well, then grabbed Cora's other hand with it, causing her to drop Emma's heart. "You may have made Emma do it, but my blood is on your hands. You almost killed your own daughter to do what you supposedly thought what was best for her. Wouldn't have made a big difference if she was dead, would it?"

Cora frantically tried to free herself, but Regina's grip was too tight. "Let me go!"

With a sharp sneer, Regina released her hands. Cora stared at her, wide eyed with disbelief, but also shamefully terrified of her daughter for the first time in her life. She backed off a few steps, then looked at her hands and wiped them on her cloak to get some of the blood off. Regina ripped a chunk of fabric from the bottom of her shirt and pushed it against the wound to try and stop it from bleeding too much more. "Clean them all you like. Scrub them until your skin is raw. You may not be able to see it, but it will always be there."

Without another word, Cora looked up at her daughter again, seeing no way she could possibly win this, and disappeared.

Regina's knees buckled and she fell to the floor as soon as her mother was gone, finally acknowledging the immense pain she had just inflicted upon herself. Once she opened her eyes again, she saw Emma's heart lying on the ground and did her best to ignore the stabbing feeling in her stomach once again as she reached out for it, just managing to reach it. As she sat back up, she was startled by a hand touching her shoulder. She turned around and saw Emma smiling at her. "I...I..." She had had plenty to say to her mother, but could think of nothing to say to Emma now.

"Don't. You'll only embarrass yourself." She giggled lightly.

Regina returned her smile, then turned herself around to fully face her. She put her heart to her chest and returned it to its rightful place. "Now keep an eye on that. I got it back for you, so it's mine now and I don't want to lose it." She winked playfully.

Emma, finally feeling the full effects of all the stress from what happened, started laughing. Regina couldn't stop herself and, within moments, was laughing just as hard as Emma. Why they were laughing, neither of them knew, but it felt great being able to finally do it again. After a while, Emma stood up and extended her hand to Regina. "Come on. You might need Whale's help again."

Regina took her hand and Emma helped her stand up, though she stumbled at first. "Yeah. In retrospect, reopening a bullet wound may not have been the best idea."

"But at least you seemed to get your point across."

"True...now let's get back to the hospital before I really do bleed out."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for taking longer than usual! . I work two jobs and they've been kicking my butt lately. But there's only one more chapter left!


	8. Chapter 8

Once Regina was better again, she and Emma returned to Mary Margaret's apartment for the first time together since the big incident. They knocked and Henry answered. His eyes went wide and a huge smile spread across his face as he saw them together, holding each others' hands with matching smiles. "Does this mean you two are good again?!"

"Yes, we are. It's all been sorted out." said Regina.

"Henry, who is it?" Mary Margaret came walking over and froze when she saw the two women standing there. Seeing Emma first, she smiled, but it quickly faded when she saw who she was with. Then she noticed their hands and her mind began reeling with questions. "What...what's this about? I thought you shot her."

"I did...technically, but not really. It's a long story."

"Why are you holding hands?"

"Because we're a family again!" Henry beamed from excitement.

Mary Margaret looked down at Henry, then to Regina, Emma, then at their hands, and back at Emma. "You mean you two...?"

"Yep." Emma smiled again.

"I'm no longer your step-mother." Regina and Emma looked at each other for a moment, tightening their grip on each other's hands. She looked back at Mary Margaret. "Unless things change, I'm your future daughter-in-law." She couldn't help but smirk from the smug sense of accomplishment she was feeling. It was a small and meaningless thing, but a victory nonetheless.

"You...uh...I'm going to just go and..." Mary Margaret trailed off and quickly walked away to another room.

"See, Miss Swan? It wasn't as bad as you thought, was it?" Regina looked over at her.

"No. Actually it was kind of funny." Emma laughed a little. "Now we'll just have to see how well she takes it."

"Oh it'll be fine." Regina kissed her lover on the cheek, no longer worried about showing affection in full public view. "Besides, now there's no one we really need to hide it from."

"True."

"So," Henry began, "are you two just going to stand there, or are you going to come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Regina smiled and they both entered.

Emma grabbed his hand before he got too far away. He turned towards her, slightly confused. "What is it?"

Emma knelt down in front of him. "Well we thought that, since we don't have any real reason not to anymore,"

Regina set her hand on Emma's shoulder and smiled. "Maybe you'd want to get out of this tiny, old apartment and move back home with me. Emma would be there too, of course."

"It's alright if you don't want to."

"Of course I want to!" Henry said excitedly. He hugged both of them and Regina kissed the top of his head. She then kissed Emma just in time for Mary Margaret to bring David in. None of the newly founded family even noticed.

"Well, I guess that answers my question!" David said with an awkward look.

Both women turned towards him, at first a little surprised, then they started giggling. "Yep, I'm afraid it's true, Charming."

David, who had managed to start actually believing Regina about her turn around in behavior much quicker than Mary Margaret and had even had doubts about Emma's story based on how strangely she had been acting, would have been happy for them, but neither of them had told what happened yet. So he was still rather confused. "So, how long have you two been together then?"

"Since your welcome back party after Snow and Emma returned from the enchanted forest."

"Then why, Emma, did you...?" He trailed off, pretty sure she would know exactly what he meant.

The smiles drained from both women's faces once he asked his question. They had had multiple reasons for coming, this being the last they had to take care of. In all the excitement, they had almost forgotten about it. Emma cleared her throat and wandered closer to her parents, looking very solemn indeed. "The night before, when we had our dinner while you two were on a date, when I went out to say goodbye to Regina personally, someone caught me before I came back inside...and stole my heart until Regina managed to get it back. Cora's here. I don't know how, but she is. It looked like Regina scared her pretty bad when she confronted her, but I'm sure she's not done."

"Why...why didn't you tell us?" her mother said quietly. Her eyebrows raised with concern.

"She had my heart. I couldn't."

"Did you find out where she may be hiding?" asked David.

"I found her in the forest a few times, but that doesn't mean she'll still be there. She's not dumb. She'll have moved now that she's lost her control over me."

Regina let go of Henry and stood next to Emma. "She obviously wants to try and hurt me, which means her targets will likely be either Emma, or..." She paused, hoping she was at least wrong about the last one since she hadn't attempted to do anything to him yet. "Henry."

"Well," Mary Margaret smiled reassuringly, "we've all handled her before. I'm sure we can do it again."

"We just need to figure out a way to make it more final and permanent this time, so she can leave us all alone for good." Regina was still conflicted, but decided it was more important to at least try and keep Emma and Henry safe, rather than to try and keep a hold of the woman that had done nothing her entire life to return her love.

Mary Margaret took Regina's hand and smiled again. She still didn't fully trust her, but obviously she was going to have to get used to her being around a lot more now. "Don't worry about it. We'll take care of her. If she comes after you or Emma or Henry, or even anyone else, we'll catch her."

David looked at his wife and the corners of his lips raised for a slight smile. Even though he knew full well how she felt towards Regina, she was at least trying to accept her and treat her like family. He was proud of her. Then the solemnity returned and he looked up at his daughter. "We need to tell at least a few people we know can be trusted. She's too sneaky. We've got to have as many eyes watching out for her as possible."

"But we can take care of all this later. If she's as shaken up as you seemed to say she was, I'm sure it'll be a while before she does anything. Plus she's got to know you're not going to keep quiet. It'd be stupid to do anything so soon. For now," Mary Margaret continued, "let's relax and clear our heads. We can think over what we're going to do and discuss it a little later. This is something that's going to take some pretty careful thought."

"Yeah." Emma finally chimed in again. "A little relaxing would be good for all of us."

Regina smiled then turned to Henry for a moment. "I think we're going to kidnap him for a little while, though. He wants to move back home." Emma elbowed her lightly in the arm. "I mean, with me and Miss Swan, in my home."

"Already?" Asked Mary Margaret.

"Well Emma and I have been together for quite a while, and Henry wants a family. What better way to be able to call ourselves that? And...I'm afraid your little apartment is probably becoming crowded anyways."

"I guess you are both his mothers, so I can't really argue." Mary Margaret smiled nervously then looked down at her grandson. "I hope you enjoy living there instead."

"I've already lived there before, but this time Emma's going to be there too! And it's not like we're going to ignore you two." said Henry.

Mary Margaret forced another awkward smile and stayed silent.

Emma grabbed Henry's shirt sleeve, pulled him over, then held him to her side. "For now, what do you say the three of us go have lunch at Granny's to celebrate?"

"Sounds good to me!" Henry smiled up at her.

"Goodbye for now Charming, Snow," Regina said politely, with a slight nod of her head, as she put her hand on Henry's back and they turned to leave.

"Hang on just a sec. I'll meet you out front." Emma called out to her. Regina acknowledged her, then took Henry outside. The youngest Charming suddenly hugged both of her parents, catching them both a bit off guard. "Thanks you guys." She let go of them, practically glowing. "I know it can't be easy letting her into the family like this, especially for you, Mary Margaret. You're not exactly subtle."

Snow held onto her daughter's hand and returned her smile, this time not nervous or awkward. "I just want you to be happy. If that means trying to accept her, then I will do my best."

"Plus she really does seem to be trying to be good. I also trust that you will only do what you feel is right, and if that means trusting her, then there must be something causing that." David chimed in.

"I do trust her, and I really do love her. I was just worried you might try and separate us. Thank you for actually supporting me."

David folded his arms. "Anything that puts a smile like that on your face is fine by me."

"Me too."

Emma's smile grew a little, then she started backing up. "See you later then." Both parents said goodbye, then Emma joined Regina and Henry outside.

-fin-


End file.
